China's Bearing Manufacturers Face SARS Concerns

Bearing manufacturers are among the many businesses and factories in China on the front lines of preventing the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome. The SARS virus has so far infected 5,316 people on mainland China and resulted in 315 deaths. Worldwide, the SARS death toll topped 700 over the weekend. China's bearing manufacturers, most of which are in a single facility, face the very real prospect that a SARS outbreak could shut down and possibly destroy their business. In Guangdong, where SARS apparently started, and adjoining Provinces (Hainan, Guangxi, Hunan, Jiangxi and Fujian). In Suzhou, outside Shanghai, bearing manufacturer Toyo Kogyo (Japan) is an example of one foreign company taking extra effort to protect its only Chinese facility. Every visitor must be screened, and anyone showing a potential SARS symptom is denied access. Then, every visitor must have their temperature taken. Again, anyone with a temperature above 37.5 C / 99.5 F or higher is also denied access. Once inside the plant, they are issued surgical masks and are not allowed out of the lobby unless accompanied by an employee. In the facility, no more than ten people are allowed to gather in any one place. Toyo President Yoshihara Sakurada said, "...we have plants only in Japan and China. It would be a disaster if someone gets infected and we are forced to stop operations." Mr. Sakurada also pointed out their concerns about the stability of the supply chain. Kaizen, just-in-time, Kanban and other initiatives save costs and shorten the supply chain but render it vulnerable to unpredictable and uncontrollable SARS-related disruptions.